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It was obvious that he wasattracted to Amber. He had been for a long time. It wasn’t just that she waspretty, although she was. It wasn’t even that she was probably the smartestperson Simon knew, or that she was brave, kind, and determined. No, there wassomething more about her, as if, the more time Simon spent around her, theeasier it was to see her as something other than just a partner or a friend.
Simon had to push those thoughts toone side as Amber approached, though. The two of them had an interrogation toconduct, and Simon couldn’t do that if he spent all of his time thinking aboutAmber rather than their suspect.
“What did you find?” Simon asked,as Amber finally reached him.
“Plenty,” she said. “You won’t besurprised to find that Alonzo Ruiz isn’t the PhD he claims to be, but he has abunch of other made up qualifications, and he’s been at least a couple of otherpeople over the years. Keystone PD have been searching his place, and Mindy wasvery helpful unlocking some of the computers once the EMTs finished checkingher over. There are a bunch of files there on his clients, including AliceChan.”
“That’s kind of what you wouldexpect, though,” Simon pointed out, not quite getting where Amber was goingwith all of this.
“Only these files includenotes on things like their psychological vulnerabilities,” Amber said. “Andnotes on what he might be able to get out of them in the future.”
Now Simon was starting tounderstand. “So he was manipulating his clients, conning them?”
Amber nodded. “Imagine how muchinformation a client might give someone like him. They’d tell him all theirdarkest secrets, all their problems. Even just basic personal information sothat he could run astrological charts for them.”
Simon could already see how thatmight lead to murder, if Alice Chan had worked out what Alonzo was doing. Ifmaybe she’d threatened to talk to the cops. They still didn’t have physicalevidence to tie him to the scene, though, and that meant that they were relyingheavily on getting Alonzo to talk now.
“Let’s get in there,” Simon said.
Amber nodded. “All right.”
They went into the interrogationroom. Alonzo Ruiz was sitting behind a metal desk at the center of the room, acamera in the corner watching him unblinkingly. His hands were cuffed to thetable, but somehow, he affected to look unconcerned, as if none of what washappening mattered to him.
“Agents,” he said as Simon andAmber sat opposite him. “This is all a terrible misunderstanding.”
“How is it a misunderstanding?”Amber asked.
“You think… what? That I’m involvedin the terrible murder the other day?”
“You’re going to tell usotherwise?” Simon said.
Alonzo smiled at him. “Of course Ihad nothing to do with it. Whoever did that was clearly a madman.”
“Or a calculating man trying to looklike a madman,” Simon retorted. There was something about the astrologerthat got under his skin.
“Tell us about Alice Chan,” Ambersaid. “She was one of your clients, yes?”
“Well, yes, I admitted that back atmy office. I’ve been quite open with you.”
Was his tactic to try to make itlook as if he was just an innocent man, one who had cooperated fully, and whohad still been arrested? If so, it wouldn’t work.
“I doubt that you’re completely openwith anyone,” Amber said.
“Agent Young,” Ruiz replied. “Thatis an unfair characterization. I am an honest businessman, and-”
“If you’re so honest, why was yourinstinct to run?” Simon asked.
He could see Ruiz shift nervouslyin place now. Back at his office, he hadn’t been able to keep his nerves incheck, and they were starting to come through now. Sweat was starting to formon his brow again.
“I have had… some difficulties withthe law in the past. They taught me that you can’t trust law enforcement to beimpartial or fair.”
“So it has nothing to do with thelists of your clients’ personal vulnerabilities that you keep in your files?”Amber asked.
“You had no right-”
“It wasn’t hard to get a warrant tosearch once you burst out of there, assaulting your receptionist on the wayout,” Amber said.
“That was an accident. I didn’tmean to hurt Mindy.”
